intro to digital media studies

how do stupid videos like this get 80000 views in a day?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKR_SjJhjp0

Since the suggested readings for this week were very random and scattered, my reading response is going to be random and scattered as well. To start it off, I would like to discuss the article by Kevin Sites called "Gadgets and Gadflies". In his article, he writes that Tim Robbins said that he 'decried today's news and entertainment content as driven by a "pornographic obsession with celebrity culture.'" (http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/69013/gadgets-and-gadflies;_ylt=AvYnR3...).

I think the most amazing thing that technology has come up with is the fact that we have the power to watch TV on the computer. As college students, we have very limited access to a TV. At least at Pitzer, there's only one television for all the freshman dorms to share. Clearly, things can get difficult. Thankfully, we can now download television shows on computers and solve the cat-fight for the TV screen.

In class we discussed our opinions on commercials and what is the future for commercials. I think that this is a very important and interesting question. All in all, I feel that corporations will do anything that they can in order to make money. However, it is difficult to try to figure out how they can remain when we have inventions such as TIVO. My personal opinion of commercials is that they are too long, repetitive and just poorly done or thought out. The commercials on abc are in some ways better, they are quicker and some are kind of funny.

via Engadget.com:

A company called GreenPix has created an astounding combination of sustainable technology and digital media virtuosity, dubbed the Zero Energy Media Wall. The system features the world's largest (so they claim) color LED display, powered completely by photovoltaic cells which are integrated into the glass curtain. During the day, the wall -- located on the Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing -- harvests solar energy, then expends the charge at night in a display of undulating colors. The system goes on display this month.

I found the Atlantic Monthly Article “The Revolution Will Be Televised,” by Michael Hirschorn, to be my favorite of the suggested readings. Hirschorn’s perspective as a media mogul who dealt with the music industry's transition from record to digital sales, offers an interesting perspective.

Just a little something I found... combining two worlds to come up with... well... something rather nerdy:

The “Convergence Culture,” by Henry Jenkins, focused on the trend of consolidation of a wide range of mediums into a single package offering to consumer. At work are two forces, “both and top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up consumer driven process.” Businesses hope to make money in many markets, while consumers demand constant entertainment and display less loyalty to one medium.

I enjoyed Howard Rheingold’s “The Virtual Community,” as an interesting take on online communities from an individual who has formed deep bonds in one. Rheingold speaks enthusiastically about online communities, and has great visions for it s societal implications. He writes, “I have written this book to help inform a wider population about the potential importance of cyberspace to political liberties and the ways virtual communities are likely to change our experience of the real world, as individuals and communities.”